Yay! Good job people! I finally got 25 reviews. I clap for you all. *clap clap* Okay, so here it is. Oh, and by the way, I won't be here for four days, because I get to go to Dance Camp! Woot woot! And it's pretty intense, so I will be really tired when I get home. Oh well, it will be fun. And the to answer a question I got in a review, no. Percy and company will not be in this story. If you were holding out for it, I'm really sorry. On with the story!

"Hi Avril..." muttered Avery, sitting down on the bench next to her twin. Avril barely even looked up from her compact. Then she snapped it shut with a whole lot of force, because I could hear it echoing through the whole field. I swear I heard the birds stop singing.

"You traitor," she hissed. Avery seemed taken aback.

"W—what?" she asked looking very confused.

"Olsen is the cousin of the enemy! That weird girl that made a fool of me on the first day! And you are over there...doing whatever you were doing," she finished smartly.

I tried to recall the first day at middle school. That was right after Oliver left. Then I remembered. I had spit my milk out onto the floor because it was so spoiled it couldn't even be considered a liquid anymore, and along walked Avril, wearing her new clothes, and she slips, getting chunky milk all over herself.

I smiled a little, but then it turned into a grimace. Two years torture because she wasn't watching where she was walking? Maybe she thought I had done it on purpose. I hadn't exactly denied doing so to embarrass her. I didn't say much of anything back then. Let's face it, I was in a funk. "You were flirting your little butt off if my memory serves me correctly," scowled Avery.

"He's hot, okay? I'll admit it. It's my rivalry, so I can flirt with whoever I see fit," she huffed.

"Whomever," Avery corrected. "And I didn't come here to get scolded by my sister for playing nice. I came to tell you I am leaving."

"To go where? With who?" asked Avril, waiting for the next piece of gossip to spread around the school.

Avery pointed behind her, towards Josh and Oliver, and me. Thank goodness she didn't look over at me and see me listening. "And Kylie."

Avril turned red. "What? Are you just going to leave me? For how long?"

Avery sighed. "I don't know. Mom might be done with her tour before I get back. It's a good time to show that you are responsible. You should be glad."

Avril did not look glad. "You are going on a trip to who knows where with our little sister and you don't know how long it will be. And you don't have supervision?"

"Pretty much."

"And I can't come?"

That's when I stopped listening. I didn't really want to hear Avery try to convince the Queen Bee that it was going to be educational, or that it would be boring, or bad for her reputation to be hanging out with her sister and her enemy. She would lose her edge, or something like that crap.

"I thought that Ashlee was your sister," I said to Josh, hoping to start a conversation that would end with him declaring his never-ending love for me. Or something along those lines, I'm not really that picky.

"What?" he asked, because it looked like he had been in deep thought. Probably making a plan like children of Athena do so well.

"Earlier, you called her 'sis'. When you were talking to her right before I found you the other day and we had that fateful conversation about how the gods were real? It's not something I can easily forget."

"Oh," he took another golden drachma (because I finally figured out what to call them) and started flipping it again. I was realizing he did tat when he was nervous and didn't want to show it. "We aren't really brother and sister, we're cousins," he started. "On our normal side. You now, the human half." He looked off into the sky, and I had the weirdest feeling that I had seen the same shot somewhere on television. "She's my dads sisters daughter, if you can follow that."

I nodded, acting like I had. Once upon a time, a girl was getting really confused, and all she could think about was the cute guy standing next to her, even though she was dimly aware of her older brother standing a little ways away watching with amusement. Shut up Oliver, and wipe that look off of your face.

"But, wouldn't it make more sense to call her 'cuz' or something?" I inquired, to get back onto a track that I actually could follow.

"When she was really young—when we were both really young—her mom died in a car crash. She lived on the other side of the state, but her dad, Aether, led her to our house, and she lived with us until we could go to camp. So, she sort of is my sister, metaphorically."

I nodded, and this time I did understand. I can keep track of simple concepts and conversation, thank you very much. "She's my fathers brothers cousins sisters friends daughters..." that's the part that threw me for a loop.

Oliver cleared his throat, and I looked at him. Well, it was more of a glare, because he looked like I was close to laughing.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"I said nothing," he replied, holding his hands up like he was surrendering, but he still had that look on his face. "Nice taste, by the way."

"Shut up," I repeated, for lack of anything better to say. I believe I have said it before, but if you want a witty comeback, give me a little warning to prepare something. I'm not so good at thinking on my feet.

"I will if you get the monkey off of my back," he said. That's when I realized that Kylie's little hands were locked around Oliver's neck and she was looking very ready for a piggyback ride indeed.

I took in a deep breath to get prepared for the fit of laughter that was bubbling up. Come on! My brother, the war hero, the slayer of beasts, the guy with two years of intensive training, could not escape the clutches of a hyperactive seven year old.

He raised one eyebrow in the most Oliver-ish way possible, and I shut my mouth. It was either that or to be laughed at for my rather apparent fawning of Joshua Blake, the brainiac bad boy who was way out of my league and just happened to be Oliver's best friend. Do I know how to pick them or what?

I huffed. "Fine," I spat out grudgingly. "Come on, Kylie," I said, heaving her up off of Oliver before she choked him to death. I have to admit; the prospect was appealing at that moment. "I'll go get you more ice cream."

Kylie squealed with delight. She clapped with excitement and squirmed out of my hold, making a beeline for Avery and Avril. "Tori's going to get me ice cream, sisters! Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!" she jumped into Avery's arms, which took the girl by surprise.

She looked at me, and I made a face and shrugged my shoulders guiltily. Avery shook her head. "No she isn't, Kylie. We are going to go home and pack for that big trip."

Kylie looked crestfallen. Then she perked up in her usual Kylie way. "Can we have it after we pack?" she asked.

Avery made a show of considering it. "Well, maybe," she said overdramatically. "If you're really good."

Kylie nodded enthusiastically. "I will be! I will be!"

"Um...okay," Avery declared. Kylie squealed some more.

"So your mom is on tour?" I asked. "Doing what?"

Avery looked at me funny. "Guess you were listening in on that too." She shook her head, but a big smile was still rather prominent on her face. "She is a ballet dancer. Well, really she does just about everything. Around last Christmas she was playing Clara in The Nutcracker, and now she's playing Carabosse, the wicked witch in Sleeping Beauty."

"And your dad?" I questioned. "Avril said she would be alone without you and Kylie."

"He's gone."

"Oh, so he's...like, permanently gone?"

"You mean dead?" Avery smiled a little. "No, he's healthy as a horse. You'd have to be, I guess, if you were going to rob a bank."

"Oh..."

Avery laughed. "It's fine. See ya!" she called, running off, Kylie pulling on her finger ahead of herm getting ready to pack.

There was no doubt about it, things were going to take a turn for the weird, and it was going to start at noon tomorrow.

Yay! New chapter! Review! It makes me happy! And it's kind of like coffee, so maybe if I get a lot I will write faster! Let's try for 30!

And there just might be a sequel if the end of this does not bore me. And if people like it enough. Maybe it'll be Kylie when she is older, since she is my favorite. =) Tell me what you want!

Review!

~Banana Smoothie